The European Union has condemned the recent alleged transfer of Iranian-made ballistic missiles to Russia and is considering new sanctions against Tehran in response.
EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said on September 13 that Brussels had "repeatedly strongly cautioned Iran against transfers of ballistic missiles to Russia," which has worked to boost its depleted arsenal as it continues its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
The bloc, Borrell said, would "respond swiftly and in coordination with international partners" and was considering ways to target Iran's already heavily sanctioned aviation sector.
The comments came after U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said this week that the weapons received by Russia could be used in the war against Ukraine within weeks. In a joint statement issued on September 10, Britain, France, and Germany called the transfers "an escalation by both Iran and Russia" and "a direct threat to European security."
Iranian missile systems during a military exercise in Iran in 2022.
A diplomatic source on September 13 said that the French Foreign Ministry had summoned Iran's charge d'affaires in the country over the alleged transfers of short-range missiles, which Tehran has denied.
The three countries also announced they had canceled air-service agreements with Iran that would restrict flights by an Iranian air carrier to Europe.
In response, the Iranian government separately summoned the envoys of Britain, France, Germany, as well as the Netherlands. Iran's official IRNA news agency reported that the Iranian Foreign Ministry told the envoys that the accusations were part of Western hostility against Iran and that the actions would "be met with an appropriate response from the Islamic republic."
Iranian weapon transfers to Russia have been a contentious issue since Russia launched its unprovoked, all-out invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Iranian suicide drones, both those manufactured in Iran and increasingly copies made in Russia using Iranian blueprints, have proven to be a deadly boost to Russia's strike capabilities throughout the war.
Russia has also pounded Ukrainian infrastructure and cities with ballistic missiles, depleting its stockpiles of such weapons even as it has greatly boosted its domestic production. Moscow has been accused of turning to North Korea and Iran to boost supplies of drones, missiles, and other munitions.
Iran has denied providing Russia with Shahed drones, despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary, and said that any suicide and more advanced combat drones sent to Moscow were transferred before the war in Ukraine began.
An Iranian kamikaze drone, labeled with the Russian name Geran-2 and bearing a New Year's greeting, shot down over Kyiv last year.
Russia and Iran, two major oil and gas producers under heavy sanctions from the West and the UN, have significantly strengthened their political and business ties in recent years. The two have worked out barter deals that circumvent sanctions that restrict their petroleum revenue and get around punitive measures that have effectively cut them off from the international banking system.
The sharing of technology and know-how has raised concerns that Tehran could bolster its controversial nuclear program, while Russia could feed its war effort against Ukraine.
SEE ALSO: How Would Iran Benefit From Exporting Ballistic Missiles To Russia?The fears were heightened last year following reports that Iran was considering exporting ballistic missiles to Russia, and the expiration in October of UN Security Council sanctions designed to thwart Iran's development of ballistic missiles and which barred its sale of such weapons.
Britain, France, and Germany have maintained their sanctions intended to restrict Iran's nuclear development and possible delivery systems such as missiles, and the United States has imposed new sanctions targeting individuals in both Russia and Iran in an effort to penalize Iranian efforts to buy or sell technology related to its drone and missile programs.
However, both Russia and Iran said following the expiration of the UN sanctions last year that no obstacles remained to their defense cooperation and potential trade of military technology and weapons.
The Port Olya 3 seen in satellite imagery in Astrakhan, Russia.
In August, a new report said Iran was preparing to export Fath-360 and Ababil close-range missiles. Last week, satellite imagery reportedly showed a Russian cargo ship suspected of carrying Iranian ballistic missiles docked at a Russian port on the Caspian Sea on September 4.
The U.S. Treasury department on September 10 assessed that the Russian Defense Ministry had used the Port Olya 3 ship to "transport CRBMs from Iran to Russia."
The development has added urgency to Ukraine's appeals to its Western partners to allow it to use donated weaponry to strike deeper into Russian territory.